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Sep 21, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Ewen Spencer

British punk duo Sleaford Mods (Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn) have announced a new EP, MORE UK GRIM, and shared its first single, “Big Pharma,” via a music video. MORE UK GRIM is due out October 20 via Rough Trade. Check out “Big Pharma” below, followed by the EP’s tracklist and cover artwork, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.

MORE UK GRIM is a companion piece to their album, UK GRIM, which came out in March via Rough Trade.

Williamson had this to say about the new single in a press release: “‘Big Pharma’ was written in the opening chapters of autumn 2022 when COVID kicked in again. It carries a lot of the normal Sleaford Mods absurdism, but also looks at the ongoing fascination with trying to find truths in information wholly pushed by very questionable people. The term ‘Big Pharma’ has been uprooted from its original place, one that rightly threw critique at the pharmaceutical industry as it produced more and more products that would ruin lives on a mass scale. Instead now, Big Pharma is more familiar as a term used by right wing and industrial groups trying to mask the financial aims of their arguments with some kind of critical thinking panache-type legitimacy. It just feels wrong. It feeds on hopelessness, widespread fear and generations of unfettered misinformation linked to the limited critical perception we as the masses are burdened with.”

He adds: “There has to be lots of personal responsibility held to account too. Recently Big Pharma has been adopted by the anti trans movement, so you can see that high performance bigotry and personal financial interest are never too far away. Much like the next version of the latest smart phone, the features are largely the same.”

Of the other new songs on the EP, Williamson says: “‘Old Nottz’ carries on from tunes like DIY, and centres more on local resentment for Sleaford Mods and my own perceived, helpless fall into material conformity. ‘Under The Rules,’ carries some of this sentiment, while the title of ‘18 Hr Girdle’ was taken from an old ’70s advert for women’s girdles and it looks at how male identity, although hard pressed currently under this cloud of Alpha Male dominance, is changing. ‘PO Crazeh’ is a mesh of absurdist, political one-liners and daft shit, basically—enjoy!”

Previously Sleaford Mods shared the album’s first single, title track “UK GRIM,” via a music video directed by Cold War Steve that satirizes the current state of politics, both in England and the rest of the world. “UK GRIM” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared the album’s second single, “Force 10 From Navarone,” which features Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw. It was shared via a music video that also features Shaw and was also one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared the album’s third single, “So Trendy,” which features Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction.

UK GRIM was the follow-up to 2021’s Spare Ribs.

Listen to our interview with Sleaford Mods in a 2021 episode of our podcast.

MORE UK GRIM EP Tracklist:

01) Under The Rules
02) Old Nottz
03) Big Pharma
04) PO Crazeh
05) My 18hr Girdle
06) Old Nottz (Alt mix)

Sleaford Mods Tour Dates:

10/14 – Holland – Utrecht – Tivoli Veredenburg
10/15 – Belgium – Antwerp – De Roma (SOLD OUT)
10/16 – Germany – Frankfurt – Batschkapp
10/18 – Germany – Cologne – Carlswerk Victoria
10/19 – Germany – Hamburg – Grobke Freilheit
10/21 – Germany – Berlin – Columbiahalle (SOLD OUT)
10/24 – Germany – Leipzig – Taubchenthal
10/25 – Czech Republic – Prague – Troxy
10/26 – Austria – Vienna – Gasometer
10/28 – Germany – Munich – Tonhalle
10/29 – Switzerland – Zurich – XTRA
11/1 – Spain – Barcelona – Sala Apolo
11/3 – Spain – Madrid – La Riviera
11/5 – France – Bordeaux – Le Krakatoa
11/6 – France – Nantes – Stereolux (SOLD OUT)
11/7 – Paris – Paris – Bataclan (SOLD OUT)
11/22 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Academy
11/23 – Glasgow, UK – 02 Academy
11/25 – Dublin – Academy (SOLD OUT)
11/28 – Leeds – Academy
11/29 – Manchester – Victoria Warehouse
11/30 – Bristol – 02 Academy (SOLD OUT)
12/2 – London – Alexandra Palace

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